Outlines of Mahayana BuddhismSuzuki, Daisetz Teitaro
Religion
Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism
Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro
Mahayana Buddhism -- Doctrines
Buddhism confesses that the mystery is unsolvable purely by the human
mind, for it is absolutely beyond the region of finite intellect and
the power of a logical demonstrability. The mystery can only be solved
in a practical way when we attain the highest spiritual enlightenment
of Buddhahood, in which the Bodhi with its unimpeded supernatural
light directly looks into the very abyss of Suchness. The Bodhi or
Intelligence which constitutes the kernel of our being, is a partial
realisation in us of Suchness. When this intelligence is merged and
expands in the Body of Suchness, as the water in a vessel poured into
the waters of the boundless ocean, it at once perceives and realises
its nature, its destiny, and its significance in life.
Buddhism is a religion and leaves many topics of metaphysics unsolved,
at least logically. Though it is more intellectual and philosophical
than any other religion, it does not pretend to build a complete
system of speculation. As far as theorisation is concerned, Buddhism
is dogmatic and assumes many propositions without revealing their
dialectical processes. But they are all necessary and fundamental
hypotheses of the religious consciousness; they are the ultimate
demands of the human soul. Religion has no positive obligation to
prove its propositions after the fashion of the natural sciences. It
is enough for religion to state the facts as they are, and the
intellect, though hampered by limitations inherent in it, has to try
her best to put them together in a coherent system.
{115}
The solution, then, by Buddhism of those queries stated above cannot
be said to be very logical and free from serious difficulties, but
practically it serves all required purposes and is conducive to
religious discipline. By this I mean the Buddhist theory of Nescience
or Ignorance (_avidyâ_).
_Theory of Ignorance._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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